ABSTRACT Ram pressure stripping (RPS) is an important process to affect the evolution of cluster galaxies and their surrounding environment. We present a large MUSE mosaic for ESO 137-001 and its stripped tails, and study the detailed distributions and kinematics of the ionized gas and stars. The warm, ionized gas is detected to at least 87 kpc from the galaxy and splits into three tails. There is a clear velocity gradient roughly perpendicular to the stripping direction, which decreases along the tails and disappears beyond ∼45 kpc downstream. The velocity dispersion of the ionized gas increases to ∼80 km s−1 at ∼20 kpc downstream and stays flat beyond. The stars in the galaxy disc present a regular rotation motion, while the ionized gas is already disturbed by the ram pressure. Based on the observed velocity gradient, we construct the velocity model for the residual galactic rotation in the tails and discuss the origin and implication of its fading with distance. By comparing with theoretical studies, we interpreted the increased velocity dispersion as the result of the oscillations induced by the gas flows in the galaxy wake, which may imply an enhanced degree of turbulence there. We also compare the kinematic properties of the ionized gas and molecular gas from ALMA, which shows they are co-moving and kinematically mixed through the tails. Our study demonstrates the great potential of spatially resolved spectroscopy in probing the detailed kinematic properties of the stripped gas, which can provide important information for future simulations of RPS.
Narrow-band HST imaging has resolved the detailed internal structure of the 10 kpc diameter H α+[N ii] emission line nebulosity in NGC4696, the central galaxy in the nearby Centaurus cluster, showing that the dusty, molecular, filaments have a width of about 60 pc. Optical morphology and velocity measurements indicate that the filaments are dragged out by the bubbling action of the radio source as part of the active galactic nucleus feedback cycle. Using the drag force we find that the magnetic field in the filaments is in approximate pressure equipartition with the hot gas. The filamentary nature of the cold gas continues inwards, swirling around and within the Bondi accretion radius of the central black hole, revealing the magnetic nature of the gas flows in massive elliptical galaxies. HST imaging resolves the magnetic, dusty, molecular filaments at the centre of the Centaurus cluster to a swirl around and within the Bondi radius.
The cold dark matter model of structure formation faces apparent problems on galactic scales. Several threads point to excessive halo concentration, including central densities that rise too steeply with decreasing radius. Yet, random fluctuations in the gaseous component can 'heat' the centres of haloes, decreasing their densities. We present a theoretical model deriving this effect from first principles: stochastic variations in the gas density are converted into potential fluctuations that act on the dark matter; the associated force correlation function is calculated and the corresponding stochastic equation solved. Assuming a power-law spectrum of fluctuations with maximal and minimal cutoff scales, we derive the velocity dispersion imparted to the halo particles and the relevant relaxation time. We further perform numerical simulations, with fluctuations realized as a Gaussian random field, which confirm the formation of a core within a time-scale comparable to that derived analytically. Non-radial collective modes enhance the energy transport process that erases the cusp, though the parametrizations of the analytical model persist. In our model, the dominant contribution to the dynamical coupling driving the cusp-core transformation comes from the largest scale fluctuations. Yet, the efficiency of the transformation is independent of the value of the largest scale and depends weakly (linearly) on the power-law exponent; it effectively depends on two parameters: the gas mass fraction and the normalization of the power spectrum. This suggests that cusp-core transformations observed in hydrodynamic simulations of galaxy formation may be understood and parametrized in simple terms, the physical and numerical complexities of the various implementations notwithstanding.
We present a deep XMM-Newton observation of the extremely massive, rapidly rotating, relativistic-jet-launching spiral galaxy 2MASX J23453268-0449256. Diffuse X-ray emission from the hot gaseous halo around the galaxy is robustly detected out to a radius of 160 kpc, corresponding roughly to 35 per cent of the virial radius ($\approx 450$ kpc). We fit the X-ray emission with the standard isothermal $\beta$ model, and it is found that the enclosed gas mass within 160 kpc is $1.15_{-0.24}^{+0.22} \times 10^{11} \, \rm{M}_{\odot}$. Extrapolating the gas mass profile out to the virial radius, the estimated gas mass is $8.25_{-1.77}^{+1.62} \times 10^{11} \, \rm{M}_{\odot}$, which makes up roughly 65 per cent of the total baryon mass content of the galaxy. When the stellar mass is considered and accounting for the statistical and systematic uncertainties, the baryon mass fraction within the virial radius is $0.121_{-0.043}^{+0.043}$, in agreement with the universal baryon fraction. The baryon mass fraction is consistent with all baryons falling within $r_{200}$, or with only half of the baryons falling within $r_{200}$. Similar to the massive spiral galaxies NGC 1961 and NGC 6753, we find a low value for the metal abundance of $\approx 0.1 {\rm{Z}}_{\odot}$, which appears uniform with radius. We also detect diffuse X-ray emission associated with the northern and southern lobes, possibly attributed to inverse Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons. The estimated energy densities of the electrons and magnetic field in these radio lobes suggest that they are electron-dominated by a factor of 10$-$200, depending on the choice of the lower cut-off energy of the electron spectrum.
We study the connection between the large-scale dynamics and the gas fueling toward a central black hole via the analysis of a Milky Way-like simulation at sub-parsec resolution. This allows us to follow a set of processes at various scales (e.g., the triggering of inward gas motion towards inner resonances via the large-scale bar, the connection to the central black hole via mini spirals) in a self-consistent manner. This simulation provides further insights on the role of shear for the inhibition of star formation within the bar in regions with significant amount of gas. We also witness the decoupling of the central gas and nuclear cluster from the large-scale disc, via interactions with the black hole. This break of symmetry in the mass distribution triggers the formation of gas clumps organised in a time-varying 250 pc ring-like structure, the black hole being offset by about 70 pc from its centre. Some clumps form stars, while most get disrupted or merge. Supernovae feedback further creates bubbles and filaments, some of the gas being expelled to 100 pc or higher above the galaxy plane. This helps remove angular momentum from the gas, which gets closer to the central dark mass. Part of the gas raining down is being accreted, forming a 10~pc polar disc-like structure around the black hole, leading to an episode of star formation. This gives rise to multiple stellar populations with significantly different angular momentum vectors, and may lead to a natural intermittence in the fueling of the black hole.
The strong time-dependence of the dynamics of galactic bars yields a complex and rapidly evolving distribution of dense gas and star forming regions. Although bars mainly host regions void of any star formation activity, their extremities can gather the physical conditions for the formation of molecular complexes and mini-starbursts. Using a sub-parsec resolution hydrodynamical simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy, we probe these conditions to explore how and where bar (hydro-)dynamics favours the formation or destruction of molecular clouds and stars. The interplay between the kpc-scale dynamics (gas flows, shear) and the parsec-scale (turbulence) is key to this problem. We find a strong dichotomy between the leading and trailing sides of the bar, in term of cloud fragmentation and in the age distribution of the young stars. After orbiting along the bar edge, these young structures slow down at the extremities of the bar, where orbital crowding increases the probability of cloud–cloud collision. We find that such events increase the Mach number of the cloud, leading to an enhanced star formation efficiency and finally the formation of massive stellar associations, in a fashion similar to galaxy–galaxy interactions. We highlight the role of bar dynamics in decoupling young stars from the clouds in which they form, and discuss the implications on the injection of feedback into the interstellar medium (ISM), in particular in the context of galaxy formation.
We report the detection of CO(1-0) emission from NGC 1277, a lenticular galaxy in the Perseus Cluster. NGC 1277 has previously been proposed to host an overmassive black hole (BH) compared to the galaxy bulge luminosity (mass), based on stellar-kinematic measurements. The CO(1-0) emission, observed with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) using both, a more compact (2.9-arcsec resolution) and a more extended (1-arcsec resolution) configuration, is likely to originate from the dust lane encompassing the galaxy nucleus at a distance of 0.9 arcsec (~320 pc). The double-horned CO(1-0) profile found at 2.9-arcsec resolution traces $1.5\times 10^8\ M_\odot$ of molecular gas, likely orbiting in the dust lane at $\sim 550\ \mathrm{km\ s^{-1}}$, which suggests a total enclosed mass of $\sim 2\times 10^{10}\ M_\odot$. At 1-arcsec resolution, the CO(1-0) emission appears spatially resolved along the dust lane in east-west direction, though at a low signal-to-noise ratio. In agreement with the previous stellar-kinematic measurements, the CO(1-0) kinematics is found to be consistent with an $\sim 1.7\times 10^{10}\ M_\odot$ BH for a stellar mass-to-light ratio of $M/L_V=6.3$, while a less massive BH of $\sim 5\times 10^{9}\ M_\odot$ is possible when assuming a larger $M/L_V=10$. While the molecular gas reservoir may be associated with a low level of star formation activity, the extended 2.6-mm continuum emission is likely to originate from a weak AGN, possibly characterized by an inverted radio-to-millimetre spectral energy distribution. Literature radio and X-ray data indicate that the BH in NGC 1277 is also overmassive with respect to the Fundamental Plane of BH activity.
ABSTRACT We report on the discovery and localization of fast radio bursts (FRBs) from the MeerTRAP project, a commensal fast radio transient-detection programme at MeerKAT in South Africa. Our hybrid approach combines a coherent search with an average field-of-view (FoV) of 0.4 $\rm deg^{2}$ with an incoherent search utilizing a FoV of ∼1.27 $\rm deg^{2}$ (both at 1284 MHz). Here, we present results on the first three FRBs: FRB 20200413A (DM = 1990.05 pc cm−3), FRB 20200915A (DM = 740.65 pc cm−3), and FRB 20201123A (DM = 433.55 pc cm−3). FRB 20200413A was discovered only in the incoherent beam. FRB 20200915A (also discovered only in the incoherent beam) shows speckled emission in the dynamic spectrum, which cannot be explained by interstellar scintillation in our Galaxy or plasma lensing, and might be intrinsic to the source. FRB 20201123A shows a faint post-cursor burst of about 200 ms after the main burst and warrants further follow-up to confirm whether it is a repeating FRB. FRB 20201123A also exhibits significant temporal broadening, consistent with scattering, by a turbulent medium. The broadening exceeds from what is predicted for the medium along the sightline through our Galaxy. We associate this scattering with the turbulent medium in the environment of the FRB in the host galaxy. Within the approximately 1 arcmin localization region of FRB 20201123A, we identify one luminous galaxy (r ≈ 15.67; J173438.35-504550.4) that dominates the posterior probability for a host association. The galaxy’s measured properties are consistent with other FRB hosts with secure associations.
The time-scale of decay by dynamical friction for interacting galaxies is quite short, of the order of one orbital period, as soon as the systems interpenetrate. The global merging time-scale between galaxies is thus determined by the weaker friction occurring when galaxies are distant. It is difficult to study friction at a distance by conventional N-body simulations, since the weak perturbation is buried in particle noise. We apply here the technique of ‘perturbation particles’ to investigate the distant friction between two elliptical galaxies. We rediscuss the scaling of merging times with the initial separation between galaxies, taking into account previous numerical simulations or extrapolations of the Chandrasekhar formulation.
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